


Power Outage

by ninjentsie



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
Genre: Comfort, Crying, Fluff, Hurt and comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Panic Attack, fear of the dark, robotnik is a punk bitch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:29:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24534619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninjentsie/pseuds/ninjentsie
Summary: In the lab, Robotnik could be himself and be content. He could have rage filled out bursts, random dance breaks, coffee-induced hallucinations, and triumphant maniacal laughs without the judgement of inferior human beings outside. Yes the laboratory was, truly, a heaven on Earth for the doctor.Until the lights suddenly went out.
Relationships: Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik & Agent Stone, Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik/Agent Stone
Comments: 9
Kudos: 120





	Power Outage

Another average day in Robotnik’s underground government protected laboratory. Obscure 1970’s Canadian jams playing in the background as Dr. Robotnik draws and sketches away at the blueprints for his latest ship. Colored pencils and pens are scattered all over his desk along with three empty paper coffee cups, crumpled pieces of paper, and red sticky notes. He bobs his head to the beat of whatever song is playing. Robotnik is zoned out, his sole focus being on the blueprints in front of him and nothing else in the entire laboratory. 

His laboratory was his first home, his laboratory bedroom coming in second, and his actual apartment definitely coming in third place. Robotnik spent 90% of his life in the lab. He always worked on his precious machines, only going home if absolutely necessary. Here, Robotnik could be himself and be content. He could have rage filled out bursts, random dance breaks, coffee-induced hallucinations, and triumphant maniacal laughs without the judgement of inferior human beings. Yes the laboratory was, truly, a heaven on Earth for the doctor.

Until the lights suddenly went out.

With no warning, all power in the laboratory shut down, the whirring of tech around him slowly dying down. Robotnik was frozen for a second. His shoulders were tensed, hands beginning to tremble. He slowly called out, “Backup generating system on!” No reply from his tech. Robotnik put his goggles on testing the experimental night vision settings. Hazy, but working.

He tried to stand, tried to ignore his wobbly knees begging to stay at the safety of the desk. Robotnik took a step forward. He felt claustrophobic, like the invisible shadows around him were closing in around him, grabbing at the man. Robotnik tried to ignore the deafening silence.

_ You’re being watched, _ His mind hissed,  _ They’re gonna get you. Run. Panic. Run. Run. **RUN**. _

Robotnik scrambled to the wall, searching for the tiny door to the breakers. He swung it open, fumbling around while being careful enough to not hit the self destruct button on the lab. Robotnik turned the breakers on, sighed in relief, and then realized his sigh was misplaced.

The lights still didn’t come on.

“Oh g-god,” Robotnik breathed. He whipped around, keeping his back against the wall. Doctor Robotnik, 300 IQ genius with 5 phds and enough tech to destroy a small country, had a serious fear of the dark. He got more shaky by the second, his legs losing strength to keep himself up and his breathing getting more unsteady.

He tried reasoning with himself,  _ It is just darkness. There is no creature on Earth that only exists in shadows and disappears in light, therefore nothing is in the lab but me. _

But then he heard the door open.

Robotnik screamed and scrambled back to his desk. He ran into the wall, his goggles cracking and obscuring his vision, then fell on the ground. Pathetically he kicked his legs and scrambled back against the desk and the wall.

“Go away!” Robotnik screamed, “Leave me alone! Stop! Go away!” He kicked and threw his fists out. “ _ Please _ !!” Strong hands grabbed him, restraining him against the desk. Robotnik begged, “Don't touch me! Let go! Stop stop stop!! Stop it!!”

“Doctor!”

Robotnik opened his eyes, trying to ignore the stinging behind them. He felt one hand let go of him to take the goggles off of him. Despite them being broken, the doctor still whimpered at the loss. The room was still plunged in complete darkness.

“Doctor, it’s me. It’s Agent Stone.” Robotnik whimpered childishly as he reached a hand up to touch the agent’s face. “Hold on, I-I’ll-“ A bright light appeared from Stone’s phone. He shined it on himself so the doctor knew it was just him.

“ _ Oh god, _ ” Robotnik whispered, finally pulling his hands away and stopping his struggling. He watched Stone set the phone somewhere so it could shine on the two of them. Robotnik said, “No- No I don’t-“  _ I don’t want you to see me like this. _ He couldn’t get the words out.

Robotnik didn’t need to say anything, Stone understood. He adjusted the phone so Robotnik was still hidden in the dark. Stone explained, “There was an accident with the electrical towers nearby, the government said they’re fixing it as soon as they can. I couldn’t finish your latte in time. I’m sorry, Doctor.”

Robotnik was a little shocked that Stone still cared about the latte when they were trapped in complete darkness several meters underground where nobody could find them if they were hurt or dead or worse and-

“Doctor, did you hear me?” Stone asked. Robotnik shook his head. Even though Stone couldn’t see the doctor, he could already tell what the answer was. Stone repeated, “Are you alright?”

He had to think about it for a second. Of course he wasn’t alright at all, but he didn’t want to sound so childish to Stone. He couldn’t just say “ _ Yeah, Stone, I’m actually having a breakdown because I’m afraid of the dark because bullies locked me in a closet at school and left me there for several hours several times a week”.  _ It wasn’t that easy.

Robotnik managed to stutter, “I-I’m not- I’m not sure y-yet.” Stone nodded.

“Do you want me to help you?” Stone asked. He made sure not to touch the doctor anymore, keeping his distance. Robotnik nodded slowly. Stone sat criss-cross in front of the doctor and instructed, “If you can, copy my movements.” Slowly, Robotnik stopped hugging his knees and sat criss-cross like Stone did. Stone had his hands folded neatly in his lap. Robotnik copied. 

“I’m gonna try getting your heart rate and breathing to a healthy point. Okay?” Stone said. Once the doctor nodded, Stone continued, “We’re going to breathe in for 5 seconds, hold for 3 seconds, and then slowly breathe out for 8 seconds. Make sure to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth if you can.” Robotnik nodded a little. “When I do breathing exercises, I like to move my hands up and down with how I’m breathing. So I move my hands up when I breathe in and down when I breathe out.. It’s not necessary, but it feels therapeutic in a way. Ready?”

“Y-Yes, Stone.” Robotnik huffed a little, picking at a scab on his hand. He could barely sit still long enough to do this. Sitting still to do  _ anything _ wasn’t Robotnik’s forte.

Stone gave a countdown before beginning the breathing exercise. Usually he shuts his eyes for these types of activities, but he didn’t want the doctor to get scared at the loss of eye contact. Robotnik struggled to find the right rhythm at first, his breathing too ragged and messy to fall into place. After a minute or two of trying, however, the doctor finally managed to stay in time with Stone’s exercise.

After five minutes, the doctor’s shoulders relaxed and his hands were no longer shaking. He stopped the breathing exercise, and so did Stone. 

Stone asked, “Is there anything else I can do for you, Doctor?” 

Robotnik shrugged a little before snapping, “Never mention this to anybody. Ever.”

“Of course, Doctor, your privacy is everything to me.” Stone said. Silence settled between the two. They stayed sitting on the floor, looking at each other or the ceiling or the floor or the desk. After an awkward minute of silence, Stone asked, “Would you like to talk about it? Talking usually makes me feel better when I’ve had a panic attack.”

Robotnik scoffed, “I-I did not have a panic attack! Humans with feeble minds and stupid emotions get panic attacks.” 

Stone nodded and explained, “Of course, Doctor. You simply experienced a dignified moment of intellectual outburst at the inaccuracy of plans today.”

“Yes!” Robotnik nodded and declared, “I was just taken back by the surprise fork in the road of my to-do list… Right.” He slouched against the wall.

Another minute of silence.

“So,” Stone sighed, “How long until the generators are fixed, do you think?”

Robotnik shrugged and said, “Too long.” Stone chuckled a bit at that. “They have fancy perfect generators to fix up their power outages. No reason to worry about ours if theirs is perfect.”

“The bureaucracy is truly disgusting, sir.” Stone said. Robotnik nodded.

A final minute of silence.

“I don’t like the dark.” Robotnik admitted with a sneer, “It’s… uncomfortable. It makes me feel weak. Feeble. Vulnerable. You can understand my frustration when suddenly the entire lab goes dark.”

“Of course, Doctor.” Stone said, “That’s very unhelpful.”

Robotnik groaned and tossed his head back, bonking it against the laboratory wall. He said, “I hate this! I hate sitting here in complete darkness waiting for- for- for  _ something _ to happen!  _ Somebody _ to show up! We could- We could get  _ hurt _ in here! No lights, no technology, no contact with anybody!”

Stone asked, “Doctor, may I touch you?”

He looked at the agent like he was nuts at first. Robotnik debated if the agent was going to hurt him or pull a harmful prank or something else. Finally, Robotnik nodded and grumbled, “You can touch me. A little.”

“Of course, Doctor.” Stone said. He reached over and held the doctor’s hand, rubbing his thumb over the older man’s knuckles. Robotnik felt his face heat up as Stone pulled his hand to his face, pressing a gentle kiss to it. “Nobody is going to hurt you as long as I’m alive, Doctor. My job is to protect you no matter what. I’ve sworn by this, and I will do everything I can to stay by my word.”

Robotnik didn’t answer, knowing words would fail him. Stone continued to hold the doctor’s hand. They waited patiently for the power to turn back on. Eventually, the doctor felt himself nodding off where he sat. But he didn’t want to fall asleep since he was still scared of the darkness surrounding them. Robotnik curled up against the wall.

_ Why are you so kind to me? _ He suddenly wondered, looking at Stone, who had started to hum softly. It was a random song from his Tunes of Anarchy playlist. Robotnik thought,  _ You’re so… stupidly human. So emotional and… sickly sweet. Like a fucking lollipop, and I’m so… me. _ In the several years Stone had worked for Robotnik, the doctor had probably only thanked him for something a handful of times. He yelled at Stone, verbally abused him, degraded him, humiliated him, and barely gave him a glance when Stone did nice things for him.  _ What makes me so great to you? _

Robotnik didn’t realize he was shaking again until Stone reached a hand up to cup his cheek. “Doctor, is everything alright?” Stone whispered, “You’re shaking again… and your heart rate picked up.”

“I’m fine, Stone.” Robotnik huffed, but it came out more like a whine than a snap. 

Stone didn’t want to pry into it. It was a miracle that Robotnik had opened enough to even sit with him, let alone let him touch him like this. He pulled his hand away, only for Robotnik to grab his wrist and pull slightly. 

“Don’t…” Robotnik trailed off. He couldn’t say it.

But that was all Stone needed to hear anyway. 

He put his hand back on the doctor’s cheek, rubbing his thumb over Robotnik’s stubble. Robotnik let himself lean into the agent’s touch, closing his eyes. Stone couldn’t help but smile. He whispered, “Would you like me to hold you, Doctor? So I can protect you easier, of course.” 

Robotnik certainly didn’t want to look like a big baby, but he also didn’t want to keep feeling so vulnerable to the shadows. But he wasn’t sure what was worse: Being vulnerable to the dark or vulnerable to Agent Stone. If he stayed like this, then eventually the agent’s hand would get tired and he’d have to stop touching him. If they moved now, then… well… Robotnik would get to be held by his assistant and bodyguard.

“Fine.” Robotnik said, “But only so that you can have better visuals of the room just in case something tries to attack us.” He let Stone take control of the situation since Robotnik was a clueless moron with these types of things. Stone moved next to Robotnik against the wall and spread his legs apart. Then, he guided Robotnik between his legs, his back to Stone’s chest.

Once the doctor was comfortable, Stone wrapped his arms around the doctor. He resisted the urge to bury his face in the crook of Robotnik’s neck, resisted the urge to smell his hair and clothes and body, resisted the urge to place a gentle kiss on the back of his neck. Robotnik leaned back against Stone, daring to close his eyes and attempt to doze off. 

_ This isn’t a romantic thing, _ Robotnik told himself,  _ It’s just- just for precautionary reasons. Just to stay safe. Yes. Safety. Important to human health. _

_ This might be romantic,  _ Stone told himself,  _ Just a tiny bit. A tiny, microscopic bit. _

Robotnik mumbled, “Stone, I’m gonna… rest my eyes. For a moment.”

“Of course, Doctor. I’ll stay up and keep watch so nothing disturbs you.” Stone smiled. He felt the doctor nod before finally relaxing against him. Robotnik’s breathing evened out and his heart stopped racing, thank god.

After a few minutes of Stone trying not to fall asleep with the doctor, the lights flickered on and the familiar mechanical noises of the laboratory resumed their patterns and schedules. Stone tried not to look too disappointed. Thankfully, the doctor was still fast asleep in his arms, curled up against him like a little kitten. Carefully, Stone picked up the Doctor bridal style. He walked out of the laboratory and into the hallway, down a few other hallways after that until they reached a red door. Stone struggled to balance the doctor and type in the key code, but managed.

The door slid open, revealing the doctor’s personal bedroom. Nobody was allowed inside except the doctor and, on rare occasions like this one, Stone. It was a simple room with a large black bed, table, closet, red carpet, clothes and spare parts and blueprints everywhere, and a mini fridge in the corner with a small TV on top. Stone brought the doctor over to the bed, laying him down. He carefully worked at getting the doctor’s work boots and jacket off, storing them away in the closet. Then, he took Robotnik’s gloves off and laid them on the table. Somehow, Robotnik didn’t so much as stir a little during this entire process.

Stone muttered, “You need more sleep if none of this is waking you up.” He looked the doctor up and down. There was no way it would be comfortable to sleep in a button up shirt, slacks, and a belt. But Stone knew if he so much as went anywhere near Robotnik’s belt he would be dead in a second. 

Hesitantly, Stone reached up and unbuttoned the doctor’s shirt by just three buttons. He unbuttoned the sleeves and rolled those up as well. Then, he stared at the belt like the biggest obstacle he had ever seen. Stone took a deep breath before carefully reaching down and fumbling with it. He pulled the belt loose from the buckle and lifted Robotnik up a little, slipping the belt out of his pant loops and setting it aside. God had mercy today, so Robotnik didn’t wake up to any of this going on.

Stone let out a sigh of relief. He got up and gently laid the blankets over Robotnik. “Good night, Robotnik, please sleep well.” He whispered. Stone turned around and headed for the door.

Robotnik opened his eyes a tiny, tiny bit. He mumbled, “Come back.”

Hiding his smile, Stone turned around and asked, “Do you need anything else, Doctor?” Robotnik didn’t say anything, just stared at the agent with pleading eyes. Stone nodded. Wordlessly, he took his shoes, jacket, and tie off. He set them down on the floor and climbed into bed next to the doctor. Stone let Robotnik wrap his arms around his torso, clinging and refusing to let go any time soon. He pulled the Doctor close, rubbing his back and holding in a yawn.

“Don’t worry, Doctor,” Stone said, “I’ll-“ The yawn escaped. “I’ll keep watch to make sure nothing gets you. Even in the light.” Robotnik didn’t reply since he was already starting to doze off in Stone’s arms again.

Once Stone was sure that Robotnik was fast asleep, he placed a gentle kiss to the older man’s head. “Goodnight, Robotnik.” He whispered.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! So I got half way through writing this and realized it might not make sense because the power literally goes out in the RV lab in the movie and I completely forgot. But, it’s fanfiction, so who really cares about consistency. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! 💕💓💗


End file.
